Cybercrimeology

What can leaked internal messages from a ransomware group reveal about how cybercrime operations really work? In this episode, Estelle Ruellan discusses the analysis of the tens of thousands of chat messages leaked from the Conti ransomware group she created with colleagues. They to mapped the internal roles and communication patterns of this group using natural language processing and Latent Dirichlet Allocation analysis to better understand this notorious ransomware-as-a-service outfits. We explore this interesting analysis method, what it uncovered, and howMs Ruellan’s quest to make cybercrime more understandable with data visualization.

What happens when people get tired of cybersecurity? Dr. Andrew Reeves from the UNSW Institute for Cyber Security joins us to explore how psychological principles—like fatigue, reactance, and decision-making under pressure—shape both how users engage with cybersecurity and how attackers and defenders can exploit them. We talk about what goes wrong with security training, why users push back against well-meaning policies, and how simple design choices can reduce cognitive load and increase compliance. Dr. Reeves also shares his work on cyber deception and how defenders can turn the tables, using stress, uncertainty, and time pressure to mislead attackers inside networks. This episode weaves together user behavior, system design, and attacker psychology into a broader conversation about how we shape—and are shaped by—the security systems we live with.

In this episode we have a conversation with Dr. Thomas Dearden from Virginia Tech to delve into the sociological underpinnings of cybercrime, discussing how strain and anomie theories interact with the motivations behind online offending. We talk about the nuances of these theories, how they can shed light on cybercrime, the their potential for cybercrime prevention. Recorded at the Human Factors in Cybercrime Conference, the discussion also touches on some ongoing work focusing on the use of honeypots to study cybercriminal behaviour.

What does it take to improve law enforcement’s response to cybercrime? Dr. Tom Holt from Michigan State University discusses his efforts to develop an evidence-based training center for police officers tackling cyber-enabled and cyber-dependent crimes. From identifying gaps in local law enforcement training to bridging the divide between academic research and real-world needs, Dr. Holt shares the challenges and opportunities in this critical area.

Ever wonder how much influence movies have on your cybersecurity habits? In this episode, Maike Raphael, a PhD student and researcher at the University of Hannover, joins us to discuss her fascinating research into how films depict passwords and cybersecurity. We explore the impact of these depictions on public understanding, what makes a good password (and what doesn't), and how media shapes our perceptions of cyber risks. Raphael’s analysis covers a dataset of over 97,000 movies and reveals some surprising trends about the intersection of film and cybersecurity awareness.

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Miranda Bruce, to discuss research mapping the global landscape of cybercrime and the importance of understanding local factors that contribute to digital offenses. She discusses the challenges of measuring cybercrime, the innovative use of expert surveys, and the development of the World Cybercrime Index.

In this episode of Cybercrimeology, we are joined by Joakim Kävrestad, an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the School of Engineering, Jönköping University in Sweden. Joakim shares his journey from a technical background in networking and cybersecurity to focusing on the societal and psychological aspects of security. He discusses his innovative work on Context-Based Micro-Training (CBMT), a method that enhances cybersecurity training by delivering relevant information to users at the precise moment they need it. We discuss the design science approach to research and compare our favourite pieces of bad cybersecurity advice.